Sweet as Candy, Bitter as Blood
by xoKrystalMox
Summary: After the Ice Queen incident, the Vampire King and the prince of Candy Kingdom are growing closer together each passing day. But what happens when there are new threats looming around them? Especially when someone found out about their relationship and tries to use that to take over Candy Kingdom? (Sequel to Candy Kingdom & Nightosphere) (GumLee/Marball/yaoi) DON'T LIKE, DON'T READ
1. Episode 1

**Title: Sweet as Candy, Bitter as Blood**

**Author: Krystal M.**

**Pairing: Marshall Lee x Prince Gumball**

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**Hey, hey! I'm back with this pairing~~ Woots! Anyways, I love this pairing so much because it's rare for me to be in love with a vampire and to top it off, it's from Adventure Time, so yeah. Huhuhuhu~ I actually re-read 'Candy Kingdom and Nightosphere' and I noticed there were minor grammar and spelling errors (mostly because I used my iPod to write...) but putting that aside, I actually realised that I enjoyed writing these characters. Because of that, I haven't noticed that I have written more than 8K+ words on the first chapter. I don't know if they are in character or out of character (honestly, I don't care...) but perfection has always been my weakness. So, do let me know if they are out of character and describe to me how to keep them in character and moreover, this genderbent version of Adventure Time only aired about a few times and I couldn't really grasp their personalities.**

**But, overall, this has been enjoyable, especially when this idea struck to me. Don't worry, Ice Queen is still in here (I love her and I love Ice King too in the normal series), so how could I not have her in here? She's not really the main plot though, haha. And also, I have increased in maturity (...yuck, that sounds weird, okay, maybe I'm still childish) but I decided to increase the 'heat' of this story. Get it~? ;D But not until it reached M. No, hell no. As much as I read K rating until M rating fan fictions, I don't have the guts to write M-rated stories. The highest I would go probably be T+. Yeap, and this chapter is at that T+. So, yeah, but it's still fine to read~ **

**Ah, and this is also the sequel to Candy Kingdom and Nightosphere, so if you haven't read that, I don't think you would understand much because there are some reference I took from the previous fan fiction. I know the last story was only 10 chapters, and I thought I was satisfied but then, I found myself wanting to write more of them and I was like 'WHAT TO DO? I CAN'T CONTINUE THAT! IT'S COMPLETED!" and so I decided 'What if I ask if anyone wants a sequel?' and yeah, thank god you guys agreed to it! Anyways, enough ranting!**

**Wow, that's long. So, anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. You know what to do~ ;D There's a button called 'Review' so please do to feed my imagination. Follow and favs are welcomed from the bottom of my heart~ **

**And uhm, well, until we meet again! :D **

**Krystal**

**Disclaimer: Not mine. Everything else except the plot belongs to CN or other respective owners.**

**Warning: This is a Marshall LeexPrince Gumball slash. Don't like, please don't read. Any flames will be used to burn the respective person's faces and please note down that when your face is burning, I will bake my marshmallow and watch you wither in pain while enjoying this said marshmallow. -total sadist- **

**P.S: I use British English. Not American. Grammar and spelling follows the BE.**

**As well, I have posted this chapter first a few weeks ago but because I was spammed by some idiot who hates this pairing, I deleted it. Again, don't like-don't read, alright? Saves everybody's time and especially mine (I'll just delete you without reading your review and report you if you persist). Anyways, if you have any constructive criticism, please do let me know! That's welcomed! ^^ **

**And now-ENJOY (Btw, this whole story is in T and will never get to M, EVER. not used to writing such scenes. ^^||) **

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**Episode 1**

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It was a sunny day, of course it was. Rain rarely covered this land and honestly, nobody could even remember when the last time rain had drenched them to the core was. However, the trees still grew and the grass still stayed green. Looking past the clouds, looking past the sunny sky, into a kingdom past those big walls of defences, there were the same people, the same noises and the same laughter echoing throughout the Land of Aaa.

Inside the castle, the staffs of the royal castle were busy trying to keep the duties going smooth and well. Running around, the staffs were in many shapes and sizes. Some were stub and round meanwhile others were a tad too tall for their own good. But the one thing they all had in common was that they were sweet. No, not just personality wise but in whole general theory, they were sweet, so sweet to the core, almost like a candy.

But then again, this wasn't so far from the truth. The truth stated that indeed, this land was actually made out of candy people. And the one ruling them, from different heirs was the one and only beloved Prince Gumball. And even he, today, was quite busy trying to organise everything from his deals with the Cookie Kingdom to the appeasing party of the royal council who were in charge of his decisions.

And honestly, he was getting really tired. Carrying a bunch of files in one hand and about a lump of scrolls on the other, he was trying his best not to trip and fall flat on his face in the middle of the hallway. "Do you need my help, sire?" one of the passing maids asked him only to have a smiling prince telling them that he was fine. Sure, he was tired but it didn't mean that he was weak! He could do it! It was just carrying some files into his room. How hard could that be?

However, he had overestimated his own abilities. By the time he had reached his room and dumped the pile of papers and scrolls on his study table, he was worn out. He slowly glanced at the bed next to him and was tempted to just crawl on it and sleep. But he couldn't. It was his sworn duty to put his job as a prince first and then himself. It was how he had been taught and that was how he was going to live each day.

Sighing, he rubbed his temples with his fingers, trying to soothe himself. He could feel a headache coming on slowly. Just then, he felt a chilled breeze entering his room. He shuddered a bit before the balcony door was closed and walked in a figure. He didn't have to look to know who it was. The prince sighed slowly as he looked at his desk filled with work left undone. And he had to finish them before the end of the week.

Footsteps walked closer to him as he caught onto a familiar aroma. It was so familiar that had the prince blushing a bit, his coral pink skin slowly turning even darker in colour. Slowly, he felt a pair of arms wrapping around his waist, pulling his back to someone's chest. Then, the hold tightened and someone's chin was sharply placed on the prince's left shoulder.

Blowing out some wind on the prince's neck, Gumball sighed and stood there, not moving and not talking, just staring at his work. "You've been busy," the voice spoke out low and somehow unpleased. "Too busy for my liking."

"Well, I am the prince, Marshall Lee," he said slowly as Marshall Lee gripped onto the prince a little tighter, somehow as if he was scared the prince would slip away. Slowly, he placed his mouth on the shoulder of the prince and started kissing it. The new soft and cold sensation that pierced through his clothes on his shoulder gave out some familiar yet electrifying feeling for the prince. "Marshall...," he slowly said as the king only hummed out a response and continued to kiss his shoulder before slowly making way to his slender neck.

"I missed you, Bubbs," he said slowly as he kissed his neck but not really getting into it, leaving feathery touch around everywhere he kissed. The prince closed his eyes as he felt the familiar sensation taking him over little by little. He suddenly found himself wishing for Marshall Lee to continue on and drag him away from this heavy work. "We haven't seen each other for almost three weeks," Marshall continued as he suddenly latched his lips at one particular spot at the prince's neck and sucked it hard.

The prince yelped out before he quickly untangled himself from the grip and pushed Marshall away from him. The king just stood there as the prince's hands stopped him from coming any closer. "I have work to do, Marshall Lee. I have work to do!" The prince then sighed and turned around to look at his desk before grabbing onto a certain scroll. He then quickly turned back to Marshall and sighed again when he saw the frown on the vampire's face. "I thought I told you not to come over," he said as he walked past the nightwalker to the room door. He was about to open it when suddenly, he felt two hands slamming the door shut and trapping him between the door and another body.

"And you think that it's easy staying away?" he growled out as he grabbed onto one of Gumball's shoulder and turned him around before slamming him against the door. "I haven't seen you for three weeks, Gumball!" He frowned and Gumball could clearly see the displeased look on his lover's face. He could even see that the vampire had looked even scarier than usual.

Looking away from the vampire, the prince laid his head against the door. He looked Marshall in the eyes and smiled small, all the tiredness finally coming together as one. "I missed you too, Marshall. But the royal council is picking me apart one piece after another and the castle is busy preparing for the new arrival of the royal council member and I'm just so tired to the point I want to sleep in and never get up," Gumball mumbled and complained as he laid his head on the vampire's chest, slowly inhaling his chest. The vampire didn't say anything as he straightened himself.

The prince slowly wrapped his arms around the vampire's waist and buried his face deeper into the nightwalker's chest. "I'm sorry I haven't made time to see you." The apology was all that was needed as the vampire sighed loudly and hugged back, kissing the top of the prince's head along the way.

Just then, a loud knock interrupted both of them as Gumball slowly pushed Marshall away from him. "Prince Gumball?" Peppermint Maid called out as the prince felt irritated all of a sudden.

"Yes?"

"It's time for the citizen's talk," the maid continued as Gumball nodded.

"I'll be right out," he said as he looked at Marshall and shrugged. "Well, see you soon."

He was about to open the door again when Marshall Lee grabbed onto the prince's wrist and turned him around before latching his lips onto the prince's. It was a chaste kiss but it meant so much more for both of them as the prince smiled and blushed at the same time. With that, the vampire let go of the prince's hand and Gumball walked out of the room.

It has been almost eight months since Prince Gumball of the Candy Kingdom and Marshall Lee the Vampire King had been going out. It was a surprise to anyone that these two opposites were together. Prince Gumball was the 'nice guy' meanwhile Marshall Lee was the 'bad boy'. But fate seemed to have a different point of view when it came to mismatched pairs. Prince Gumball never thought that one day he would fall in love and nevertheless with a man. Fionna, the heroine of this land was someone who the prince used to think was his ideal type of love. But then, this happened.

The Ice Queen happened. She had kidnapped him and forced Marshall Lee to reveal his true feelings. Even though it was a shock at first for the prince, Gumball couldn't deny that he had felt the same way. So, they started to see each other more than friends. Gumball was always shy when it came to intimacy. How could he not? Marshall Lee was his first love and apparently, his first kiss. His virginity was totally out of the question as the prince didn't even want to go there yet, so their relationship has never really progressed further than simple kissing and occasionally, 'making out'.

But lately, even those simple touches weren't so easily done since the new member of the royal council was going to come and join this kingdom and the prince needed to make all the preparations. If he didn't, then the entire royal council would just dot on him until he was broken to pieces. The royal council was a dark place to be and the prince was so glad that he wasn't one of them.

However, he wasn't lucky when it came to the fact of his decisions. Everything was set for him. Only the heir, that was the problem left there. Soon, there would be a time where even the royal council will want him to have an heir. To find a queen. What was he to do then? Would Marshall Lee still be with him then?

Sighing, the prince removed the thoughts from his mind. He just wanted this day to end. Tomorrow, the new royal council member would arrive and he would finally be a little free to visit Marshall Lee again.

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Night time rolled in as the prince yawned slowly and opened the doors to his room. It was three in the morning now and the prince had finally finished everything on the list. Walking to his bed, he hadn't even realised of another presence lingering in the room. Slumping face first on the bed mattress, he felt himself sighing in relief. Suddenly, he felt the bed dip on his right side. Slowly turning around and looking on his right, he saw the familiar blue jeans and red and black chequered shirt. Smiling, he closed his eyes. "What are you doing here, Marshall?"

He felt a hand touching his hair and slowly he felt the fingers playing with the messed up pink strands before he felt Marshall Lee lying on his left so he was looking at him. "You look tired, Bubbs. They really wore you out this time."

Gumball just chuckled before lazily opening his eyes and looked at him. "They did. They really did. Your hair grew longer," Gumball said softly as he touched Marshall's long strands of hair. Marshall traced Gumball's hand before he took it and clasped it tight with his own hand. Marshall just stared at the prince's tired face. The way his eyes drooped low and how his lips lacked the normal tanginess of pink. The vampire sighed as he scooted closed and scooped Gumball. The prince was taken aback as he felt the heat rushing to his face. "Marshall, what—"

"Go to sleep, Gumball," the pale vampire said as he wrapped his arms around the small prince and brought him to his chest. "Just sleep."

The prince just sighed and decided not to fight it. It has been awhile since he had felt Marshall's cool skin on him. He smiled and closed his eyes as he snuggled deeper into the cold warmth. With that, in just within minutes, the darkness took over. "Night, Marshall."

* * *

The next morning, there was a few knocks on the door, awakening the prince. Gumball furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to ignore the knocking. But then again, nothing ever went the way the prince wanted. As the knocking continued, the drowsy morning slowly wore off. The prince slowly opened his eyes and stared at what seemed to be a chequered black and red shirt. Why were there chequered patterns all of a sudden? As he stared, he realised a tight grip on his waist. Looking down, he saw a pale hand draped on his waist and the arm tightened again its grip on him. Staring for another few more seconds, the last night's event came flooding in.

Jolting awake and quickly pushing the vampire's hand away, he panicked. Tangling himself with the sheets around him, he quickly became unstable and fell flat on the floor and off the bed on his back. "Ouch…," he moaned quietly as the knocking suddenly stopped.

"Prince Gumball? Are you alright?" Peppermint Maid asked from the other side as the prince laid on the ground and smiled bitterly at his fate.

"Yes, I'm alright!" he yelled back before he heard the shuffling of mattress cloth. Slowly emerging from the corner of the bed, Marshall Lee smirked when he saw how tangled up the prince was. Prince Gumball stared back at the king unamused as he looked away and tried to get up.

"Should I come in?" the maid asked as the prince choked a bit in red. If she ever came in and found out that Marshall Lee was here, she would smack him and the king on the head with her broom! Peppermint Maid never really liked the prince's friendship with the king of vampires. She would always glare at him at every chance she got. So, telling her about their relationship was totally out of the question as well. Who knows what she could do if she found out that the prince was already kissing someone before marriage? Especially if it was with the vampire.

"No!" The prince immediately stood up and tried to untangle himself from the mattress cloth. "I'm fine!" Marshall Lee only laid there and stared at the prince amused, a devilish smirk making way on his face.

"Alright then, please don't be late. The ceremony will start in two hours," Peppermint Maid reminded him one last time before she walked away. Once there were no more noises from outside of his room door, the prince quickly finished untangling himself and walked to his closet. Opening it wide, he searched for his royal clothes. Once he found them, he quickly started to strip out of his shirt while searching for his towel. He was quite a mess today and he hadn't even had enough sleep!

"I didn't think you wanted to seduce me that much, Bubbs," a voice brought the prince's attention to the situation as he quickly snapped his head and looked at the vampire, who was now sitting on the bed with his hair messed up and looking at the prince with a smirk.

"What are you talking about?" the prince asked as the vampire pointed to the prince's chest.

"Getting undressed in front of me, you're such a tease, aren't you?" the vampire said seductively as the prince's face reddened from the realisation. Quickly finding his towel, he covered his chest and looked away from the vampire.

"Go home, Marshall," he said quickly before he dashed to the bathroom. Before the vampire could retort, the door to the bathroom was slammed shut. The prince felt his body heat travelling to his cheeks as he felt his hands and legs go shaky. Slumping down to the ground, he felt embarrassed that the vampire had seen him without his shirt on.

He had never been naked to anyone before and this certainly was the first. Blushing even redder, he realised how deep in emotions Marshall Lee looked. Could it be that the king was craving something else besides the kiss? Gumball quickly shook away those thoughts as they headed down to a road he never travelled.

He could think about those things later. Immediately latching himself into the tub, he started to clean himself and washed his hair with some strawberry shampoo. Once the whole routine was done and he was dressed, he opened the bathroom door and walked out. Looking around his room, the first thing he noticed was the lack of vampire. He suddenly felt disappointed that the king actually heeded on what he had said. Walking to the dressing mirror, he took some gel and fixed his hair so it would look appropriate for the day.

Suddenly, he realised how Marshall Lee loved strawberries. Would he like the smell of Gumball right now? The prince frowned a bit once he realised that he was thinking of his lover again. Sighing, he decided he wanted to hang out with the vampire tonight. Quickly opening the doors of his dresser, he found a notepad and a pen. Writing down a simple note to meet him at the balcony tonight, he folded the paper and decided to give this to his trusty mailman.

He always got the job done.

* * *

Walking down to the throne room, he looked around and saw every important person were already there. He suddenly felt nervous as he saw the royal council members entering the room. Just then, he saw Peppermint Maid quickly trying to keep up with all those errands and he suddenly felt guilty that he had felt irritated with her moments ago. As he watched everybody mingling with their own business, he heard one of the royal council members calling him.

Walking to them with a smile on his face, they smiled back, even though they looked a bit uptight. "Prince Gumball, I say, you have outdone yourself this time," one of the tallest member had said as he sipped on what seemed like a fruit punch. The prince smiled and nodded.

"Thank you but it wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for my staffs," the prince continued as they laughed as if he had said a joke.

"Oh, as always, so nice and kind," another one of them said. Prince Gumball just kept on smiling even though he didn't know why he was doing so. Just then, the horns were blown and everyone quieted down. The doors of the castle opened and suddenly, two of the bears with glasses that the prince had seen when he was dragged to the club with Marshall Lee one day, appeared, walking in front.

As they took in their position, a tall figure walked in. With his suit tailored in black and a frown on his lips, the next royal council member was revealed. The prince's eyes widened when he saw how dark this man looked. He wasn't a candy though, that was for sure but there was definitely peculiar about him. His blue skin and green beaded eyes, the man was scary to look at.

"Welcome, Theo!" one of the members from behind the prince called out to the man. The man snapped his head and looked at the group as the prince felt himself gulping down a surprised yelp. This man was indeed scary.

Theo walked to the group as everyone else made their path for him by moving aside. The man was posh and he took every step with pride. The prince realised that he was indeed someone with name. But he couldn't say he had heard about him. Theo, he had never heard of someone with that name before who was connected to the royal branch. Was there a leak somewhere in his family tree? Possibly, the prince thought as he looked at the man.

"Theo, this is Prince Gumball, current ruler of Candy Kingdom," another member introduced the prince. The prince bowed a bit and smiled.

"Hello there," he said as Theo simply stared at the prince. His green eyes evaluated everything the prince was and it seemed like he was being stripped down to bare nudity. Shivering at the thought slightly, the prince tried to maintain an eye contact, even though he desperately didn't want to.

"Hm," Theo, the tall man, spoke, catching the prince's attention. "Such a young man for the job of ruling others, don't you think? Is he doing a good job?"

"Yes, the prince is the most hard working and intelligent among all the rulers we ever had," the council members agreed as the prince felt like sighing in relief. Theo just stared at the man a bit longer before he bent down to meet eye level with the prince. Suddenly, he felt cold fingers touching his jaw and tilting his head slightly so his neck was exposed.

"Ah…a lover?" the man whispered slowly so that only the prince could hear as Gumball's eyes widened. Theo smirked before he went nonchalant and looked away from the prince and stared at the other council members. "Ah, that is good."

The prince remained stoic once the door was closed and everyone began the celebration. His heart was beating fast as he felt himself sweating. How does he know that? Nobody else knew that the prince was seeing someone. Quickly excusing himself from the celebration and slipping off so nobody noticed him, the prince made a dash run to the nearest restroom. Barging into the restroom not so princely, he walked to the mirror and tugged the collar of his shirt to look at what Theo had been staring at on his neck. Just there, just a tiny point there, the prince noticed a small mark.

The prince felt the tears gathering at the edge of his eyes as he felt his legs wobbly. Slapping his hand over his mouth so he wouldn't make a noise, he slowly slid to the ground and tried to calm himself before he panicked for real. That tiny red mark, it was definitely one of Marshall Lee's. Marshall Lee had called them a 'hickey' or to him, it was mark stating that the prince belonged to him. He said since they weren't going to go any further just yet, this was the only way he could claim the prince.

But to think that tall man saw through the prince like glass, it made him shivered. And why were his fingers so cold? He could feel the cold radiating even when he didn't touch him. The prince just stayed like that as he tried to cool of his head and heart.

He suddenly felt as if his happy start was going to end terribly.

* * *

Night time dawned and the prince was waiting at the balcony, hugging the rails as he sat down on the cold tile. He was wearing one of the almost bleached white shirts with a pair of jeans that Marshall said would look good on him. Of course, the jeans were in pink. He sighed as he hugged the rails tighter. Where was Marshall? Didn't the message get through?

Just as he was waiting, he saw the familiar legs swinging on the balcony rails, sitting on them with ease. "I heard you called me, Bubbs," the vampire said cheerfully, obviously happy that his lover had called him. The prince slowly tilted his head and looked at the vampire before he felt the events of today flooding back to him.

"Marshall," he said slowly as he felt the tears gathering at the edges of his eyes again. Marshall Lee was startled to see his lover suddenly so sad. He didn't think that the prince had missed him that much.

"Hey, Bubba, what's wrong?" he asked as he slowly slid down from the balcony rails and crouched next to the prince. Gumball slowly turned to look at the vampire as he sniffed, wiping his eyes before looking at him in the eyes. He couldn't let the vampire know just yet. He needed to get out of here first.

"Let's go to your house," Gumball stated firmly, catching the nightwalker once again off guard.

"What?"

"I want to go to your house, Marshall. I want to go to your house," the prince said again as the Vampire King stared at him for a while, trying to see what was going on with his prince. Gumball seemed scared or frightened and the vampire frowned at that emotion playing on his face. That expression was rarely seen. In fact, Marshall couldn't remember the last time he had seen such an expression on the prince's face. Prince Gumball was so confident and he had never let his confidence resolve, so what was going on him now? Marshall Lee nodded slowly as he stood up.

"Okay, then," he said as he smiled small. "Well, I've missed this," he grinned suddenly as he grabbed onto one of Gumball's wrist and pulled him up so he was standing. Before the prince got to say anything, the king had already placed one hand over the back of his knees and the other grabbing onto his back. Shuffling the prince close to his chest, he looked down to see that prince was glaring at him as his face dyed in red. Chuckling, he quickly climbed onto the edge of the balcony rail and was about to jump. "Hang on, princess."

"Why you—" before the prince had managed to choke out an insult, even though to Marshall Lee, the prince's insults were never really anything past the word 'meanie', the vampire had jumped down from the balcony. Immediately, Prince Gumball wrapped his arms around the vampire's neck and buried his face into the nightwalker's chest. Gumball was still terrified of heights and it wasn't helping that Marshall Lee was actually not using the ground as transportation. Floating in the sky, the night wind howled through their faces. Marshall Lee still felt a bit disturbed at the request of his prince.

It wasn't as if he didn't want to bring Gumball to his place but this was a rare request. Usually, the prince would let the king decide on the next adventure.

Silence brewed in between them as they finally reached to the familiar cave. Placing Gumball down on his feet, the prince refused to say another word. Marshall Lee stared at the prince for a while before silent fear crept into his heart. The fear that he hasn't realised was possible for him to feel. Did something horrible happen to Gumball? Did Marshall tease him a bit too much? Did he actually show a bit too many hints about wanting to go further? Did Gumball freaked out?

But the scariest thought that ever invaded Marshall Lee's mind was, did Gumball wanted to break this off?

Walking further into the cave, the prince just kept on sighing and looked at where he was stepping so he wouldn't slip and fall. As they walked deeper, they finally came to the cosy looking home in the middle of the cave. Marshall looked behind him to see if the prince was still following. After they reached the small house, the vampire opened the door and the prince took that as an invitation and walked in, walking straight to the couch and slumping on it, immediately forgetting his prince-like attitude for a while. Marshall Lee slowly closed the door and walked towards the prince before sitting next to him, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

"Gumball, what's wrong?" he asked as he scooted closer. The prince slowly looked at the vampire before sighing loudly and covering his face with his hands. How was he going to tell the vampire that this happened? A few seconds passed by before the prince took his hands away and slumped into the couch once more.

"Today, the newest member of the royal council arrived," the prince started as the vampire looked at him confused. "His name is Theo. He was a bit intimidating to be honest. Well, he would be alright if he hadn't come so close to me."

"Eh, Bubba, you're not making any sense to me," the nightwalker spoke as Gumball sighed and looked at the vampire in the eyes.

"He knew about us."

Silence lingered on as the nightwalker stared at the prince unmoving. He knew about them? The mere straightforward sentence took some time before it settled into the king's mind. That was when he frowned. "'Theo' knew about us?" the vampire asked as the prince nodded.

"He saw that mark you left behind on my neck," the prince said as his voice began to waver.

"But, nobody else could see it. Only if he was really, really close to you, then there's a possibility," the vampire said carefully before he narrowed his eyes at the prince. "He didn't touch you, did he?"

The prince grumbled as he brought his legs to his chest and hugged them tight. "He touched my neck and saw the mark. Marshall Lee, why would you even leave a mark where people could see?" the prince whined as the vampire frowned deeper.

"What do you mean he touched your neck? And I told you, Bubbs, the mark is for to claim you!" the vampire said as the prince sighed.

"I don't see why that's necessary since obviously I had done nothing but be loyal to you," the prince said as he looked at the king annoyed. The vampire furrowed his eyebrows before he looked elsewhere, clearly starting he getting agitated with the prince.

"I told you, it's a vampire thing," he said under his breath. "Anyways, so what if he found out? It's not like if we're doing anything wrong," the vampire shrugged carelessly as he slid away from the prince a bit and laid his body on the couch. The prince suddenly sat up straight as he looked at the vampire.

"How could you say that? Of course it matters if he found out! Nobody could find out about us!" The prince clearly was flustered as he got up and started to pace around. For a prince, he was certainly forgetting everything that he was taught in such a small amount of time. The vampire clearly didn't like that statement as he sat up as well, glaring at the prince.

"What does that supposed to mean? So we're supposed to hook up without anyone else knowing forever?" the vampire asked. The prince stopped his pacing and quickly faced the vampire, slowly sighing once he had realised that the king was slightly pouting.

"I'm the prince and the ruler of Candy Kingdom, Marshall," he said quietly. "I want to be with you. I thought we've established that since the Ice Queen incident. But I don't want the royal council to know. You don't know them like I do. They're not nice," the prince continued as he walked to the pouting vampire and stood in front of him. "At least our close friends know, right?"

The king slowly looked at the prince before sighing and wrapping his arms around the prince's waist and hugged him. He buried his face into the prince's abdomen and inhaled his scent. "You smell like strawberries," the nightwalker suddenly said, changing the subject all at once. The prince blushed a bit as he realised that he had used the strawberry shampoo this morning.

He had somehow bought this when he was visiting the Fruit Kingdom. It wasn't as if he had wanted to use it but somehow, with the long gap in between, the prince felt empty inside that he didn't get to see the king and used it for almost three weeks now. He just forgot to change it today. It became a habit all of a sudden.

"Uh, well," the prince said as he looked elsewhere. "But, Marshall Lee, what are we going to do if they found out?"

The king looked up to the prince and grinned assuring. "Don't worry, Bubbs, I'm the Vampire King. I'll protect you."

This caused the prince to blush even more as he looked away. He could hear the vampire chuckling a bit before the prince looked back and smiled small. Nodding, the prince just stood there, getting hugged by the king for a while. "Back to the strawberry topic, how come you smell like this? You always smelled…sweet as candy," the vampire asked as he smirked at his own joke. The prince simple blushed a bit more before he tried to escape the grips of the vampire.

"Uh, well, that's really none of your business, is it, Marshall?" he said as the vampire raised both of his eyebrows. Deciding that he wanted to tease the young prince a bit more, he pulled the prince down onto his lap. Before the prince knew it, he was straddling the king while the vampire had his arms around the prince's waist so he wouldn't escape. Realising that he was in this position, Gumball couldn't help but to blush even deeper in red, looking like a tomato all of a sudden.

The nightwalker couldn't help but to smirk at that before he leaned into Gumball's face. "So, why do you smell like strawberries?" he asked again as the prince fidgeted. Oh how Marshall loved to create new emotions for the prince to experience.

"I…," the prince started as he looked at his smirking lover. "I…used strawberry shampoo today," the prince mumbled under his breath. It was so silent that nobody could hear it. The prince dropped his gaze and made sure he didn't let the vampire see how flustered he really was. He was hoping the nightwalker didn't even hear any of his words. However, he wasn't called the Vampire King for no reason. Chuckling under his breath, the vampire used his left hand and tilted the prince's chin so he was looking at the prince.

"Why, I'm flattered. Did you do that for me?" he asked as the prince choked up in embarrassment.

"Marshall Lee!" he tried to get up but the king was too fast for his liking and at the end, had pushed Gumball onto the couch and straddled him, blocking the prince's escape. Marshall Lee looked Gumball in the eyes before his gaze travelled to his lips. "Let me go at this instance!"

"Eh, let me think about that. How about no?" the vampire grinned as he leaned closer to the prince's face. "You know, my highness, lately you've been so tempting. Even if I didn't see you for three weeks, I have caught a glimpse of you whenever you leave your castle. You just look too delicious to not taste," the vampire said slowly as the prince couldn't help but to feel warm all of a sudden. "And now that I have you under me, I'm not going to let you go until I satisfy my cravings."

"W-what cravings? Stop blabbering nonsense!" the prince yelped as he felt the king's breath suddenly ghosting on his cheek.

"Nonsense? I think you're the one's going to talk nonsense after this," the vampire said seductively before looking at the prince in the eyes again. The prince certainly wasn't used to this type of treatment even if they have been dating for the past eight months. The Vampire King was always so straightforward and the prince couldn't help but to feel so flustered up every time the king got this way. But nevertheless, the prince couldn't help but to feel excited as well. They haven't kissed for almost three weeks and that little soft peck yesterday certainly didn't make up for the time loss.

Leaning in to the prince's lips, the vampire could hear the fast heartbeat of the prince. Chuckling to himself and quiet content that he could make the prince act this way, he slowly lowered his lips onto the prince. Once the cold met the warm, the prince immediately closed his eyes and felt the familiar sensation overwhelming his brain. The king didn't waste time as he started to kiss the prince, mashing up their lips in a synched motion. The prince slowly treaded his fingers through the vampire's hair and kissed back, enjoying how his warmth left his lips and the cold slowly numbed the edges.

The vampire had missed this warmth as he decided to make this last. He wasn't going to let the prince go just yet. He would go insane slowly if he hadn't got his taste yet. Slowly licking the bottom lip of the prince, the vampire prodded his tongue in between the young prince's lips, preying them open. The prince's eyes widened as he felt Marshall's tongue slowly prodding into his mouth. They only did this once in a while and to think the vampire would want this again.

"Wait, Marshall—" the prince tried to stop him but the vampire wasn't going to listen. Finally getting past those lips, the vampire's tongue started to explore into the prince's mouth. Closing his eyes again, the prince decided to let the king do whatever he wanted. He had made the king stay away for almost three weeks and to be honest, it didn't seem fair. The cold tongue took its time as it absorbed all the warmth in the coral prince's tongue. The prince felt really weird as his breathing started to become shallower and ragged. As the tongue touched the prince's, a squeak left the prince's mouth in between.

Redness filled the prince's face as the vampire smirked and continued on his assault. As they went deeper into his mouth, the prince was losing any chance he had to get any air. As he felt dizzy, the prince surprisingly found himself getting addicted to this feeling. As the tongue suddenly touched another part of his mouth, at the back of his teeth, the prince somehow let out a new kind of noise.

Blushing even redder, the prince didn't know what was going on with him. He had never made those types of noises before and he was certain that it wasn't his normal voice. The king on the other hand somehow froze a bit when he heard the prince moan. That was the first time and somehow, that sound was so cute and it certainly triggered something in the vampire.

The nightwalker slowly retreated his tongue as he continued to kiss his lips instead before finally breaking the kiss. But it didn't end there as the king slowly trailed down to the prince's neck, not giving a chance for the prince to breathe in as much air as he needed. The prince immediately panicked when he felt the prince kissing his jaw, sucking slowly at certain spots before moving down his neck. Rarely did the king do this but somehow, the vampire was sensing he was at limit.

"Marshall, I don't think—ah!" the prince yelped as the king suddenly kissed his sensitive neck. Chuckling, the king decided to suck at the same spot where there was the mark he left behind. The prince wanted to get up but the king's heavy weight didn't let him. He lied there as he tried to breathe in with these new overwhelming emotions. The vampire continued to kiss that spot and sucking it as the prince suddenly moaned again, catching the vampire off guard once again. Before the king could resume, the prince immediately shot up in shock at the new noise he made, causing the vampire to be pushed off the prince and fall flat on the ground.

Trying to regain his breath, the prince felt his face and ears as well as the spot where Marshall Lee had assaulted completely burn. He tried to calm himself but this feeling was too intense. Covering his face with his hands, the prince tried to think of something else. Like his citizens and the smiling children. All those happy thoughts did work its charm as they calmed the prince down. "Woah, no need to push someone down," the prince heard the vampire grumble as the nightwalker stood up from the ground.

"Ah, that was embarrassing! What was that?" the prince asked as his voice was muffled due to the fact that he hid his face in his hand. The vampire chuckled as he slowly sat in front of the prince and took his hands away from his prince's face.

"That, my love, is called pleasure," he said as the prince felt dizzy all of a sudden.

"W-what? Of course I know that! But what was that noise I made just now?" the naïve prince asked as he looked at the vampire, scared if he might have hoarded a disease. The look that the prince was making somehow caused the nightwalker to laugh out loud. Prince Gumball looked at the vampire offended as he frowned at the sudden laughter. "What's so funny? I might be dying here!"

"Sorry, you just look so cute," the vampire said as the prince frowned deeper, looking away. The vampire slowly stopped laughing as he noticed that cute pout forming at the bottom of the prince's lips. "Come on, Bubba. It's normal to make that type of noises when you know, in cloud nine."

The prince looked back at the vampire before biting his bottom lip. "Really?"

The vampire nodded before he brought the prince to his chest. "Now, wasn't that fun? Should we continue?"

The prince immediately pushed the vampire away and shook his head. "As much as that was, entertaining," the prince blushed again as he spoke, causing the nightwalker to smirk wider. "I need to get back to the castle. I still have things to do tomorrow."

"Aww, what? We just met after three weeks and you want to go already? Stay with me tonight," the vampire suggested as he looked at the prince, his cold fingertips slowly caressing the pink warm cheeks. The prince absent-mindedly leaned into the touch as he looked at the vampire.

"I wish I could, but then who would fetch me back? I don't know how to get out of here and the sun would be up for you to bring me back home," the prince said as the vampire sighed in defeat. The prince did have a point.

"Fine, but stay with me for a little while longer. Take a nap or something, I just want you here," the vampire said as the prince smiled and looked at the wall clock. It was almost midnight. He supposed he could stay beside the vampire a little longer. After all, he hasn't seen him for a while now.

"Alright," the prince agreed as the vampire beamed. "But, can we do something else besides a nap?"

The vampire raised both of his eyebrows before a wicked grin broke out. "You want to continue?"

The prince reddened again before rolling his eyes at the king. "No, something less physical," the prince muttered as the king chuckled.

"Uhm," the king said as he looked around before he spotted a DVD player. "Ah, how about a movie?"

The prince nodded as he felt himself getting excited. "Oh! Let's watch a movie then!" The prince never really had time to watch a movie. The last time he had watched a movie was about three months ago with his friends. The vampire grinned before he nodded and walked to a pile of box that was left unattended at the corner of his house, next to the kitchen. Going through the items, he found a video to be watched.

The prince just sat on the couch as he stared at the vampire's movement. Somehow, he couldn't help but to feel happy that he was with this nightwalker. Who would have known that this was the outcome of their unusual friendship?

Yes, who knew.


	2. Episode 2

**A/N: Here's the second chappie~ I know, I know, I took my own sweet time to update this. But the truth was, I ended up in writer's block for almost a while now. xD So, I had to think hard and read multiple fan fictions until I could get what I want to write. Anyways, I hope you guys like this chapter and made up for the long wait! It's about 7K+ words and that's like...12 pages in Word! So, yeah, don't forget to review to let me know what you guys think!**

**Warning: This is boyxboy and this Marshall Leex Prince Gumball. Don't like, don't read. I beg you, leave if you hate that pairing, okay? I hate being mean but if you give me no choice, I will block and delete your review so in the end, you're just humiliating and wasting your time. No hate/stupid/homophobic comments or I will report you! And those who review anonymously in hate, I will delete you. 'Nuff said. **

**To those who has no hate and are enjoying fan fictions like I am, do review to let me know if you liked it or not! And, see you guys soon!**

**Disclaimer: Not mine except this plot and Theo. **

**Krystal **

* * *

**Episode 2**

* * *

The next day, Prince Gumball sighed softly as he rubbed the back of his neck, obviously tired from the meeting he had with the Biscuit Kingdom. He had come back to the castle at a very late hour after the little worry chat with his vampire lover. Of course, he also had to wear some pink foundation that he made for himself to conceal the bigger marks that the vampire did on his neck. Why it so important, the prince was could never figure it out.

As he walked down the hallway, he thought up the agenda for today. Well, since he had some free time left before he had a meeting with the royal council, maybe he could visit his laboratory and start on his new experiment.

He definitely missed Science. He missed how the chemicals would react and bubble around the flask and he definitely missed playing around with the elements to see if he could create any new reaction. Sighing dreamily, yes, he had missed his hobby so much. Quickening his pace, he walked through the hallway and took a sharp left until he came face to face with the familiar door. Smiling to himself, he opened the door and walked in. Making sure he locked the door so nobody could burst in while he was busy, he looked around his lab.

There were some dusts everywhere but that wouldn't matter. He would just have to dust them off and get on with his experiment. Quickly walking to his experiment table, he placed his file on it and grabbed his lab coat. Dusting his lab coat a bit, he finally wore it and felt himself squealing in delight. He didn't waste any time as he went to the nearby cupboard and opened the doors. Looking through, he found some rare species of rose flower that could only be found if he went to the deepest part of the forest.

He remembered the few times that Marshall Lee had brought him to see the night creatures and that was when Prince Gumball had stumbled upon these rare things. Of course, he had wanted to take it and examine them. It was just the fact that time didn't allow him to, until now. Quickly grabbing the jar, he walked to his light microscope. Opening the jar, he used a pair of forceps and grabbed one of the flower's petals. Placing the petal on a slide and wetting it with some distilled water, he quickly slid another slide on it and pressed them tightly before placing it under the microscope.

Before he could examine them, he needed his trusty notebook. Looking around, he spotted his notebook near his bookshelf where he would categorise all of his experiments' results. Taking the book, he walked back to his microscope and grabbed a pen from his lab coat's pocket. Taking a look through the microscope, he jotted down everything he saw and even drew out its structures.

"Interesting," he hummed out.

After a few minutes of observing and writing down all of his observations, the prince felt worn out all of a sudden. Sighing, he decided to stop his experimenting for today and head out to seek out other duties to finish up. As he kept his things away and walked out of the room, his thoughts had run off to the vampire again. He didn't know why the feeling of uncertainty entered his heart as he thought about Marshall Lee and he didn't like it when he didn't know. Shaking the thoughts, he walked away from there with the files and decided to head to the council room. If he wasn't mistaken, they were about to start now.

Walking down the halls, he smiled when he noticed how his staffs were already running around getting things ready to meet the everyday requirements for the castle and kingdom. Prince Gumball finally reached the meeting room, suddenly feeling nervous. This would be the first meeting he would have with the new member, Theo. His green beady eyes that spoke a million secrets somehow caught Gumball in a frantic trance. He didn't like him and for him not to dislike anyone, it was a surprise. He could feel something slithering underneath that man's smile and it didn't settle well for the prince.

Taking in a huge breath, he finally nodded to himself that it would be alright, despite the fact that he doubted that thought. Shaping his knuckles, he knocked on the door before he opened it. Voices inside of the room shushed as he entered. Smiling at the members, he closed the door and went to sit down. He scanned the room and saw all of the council members were here, including Theo. The man was sitting opposite of him and the prince was more than afraid to look at him in the eyes.

"Welcome, your highness," Theo greeted him with a tight smile, stretching ghastly on his face. Gumball looked at him and tried his best not to cringe at the look and smiled back in politeness.

"Thank you and welcome to you too, Theo, to this meeting," the prince spoke as he looked away from him and to the files in his hand. Taking it, he handed to Theo. "These are the conditions Biscuit Kingdom has agreed on. I signed it, knowing it will benefit both of our kingdoms."

Theo took the file slowly and looked at it before his smile morphed into a smirk, catching the prince off guard. "Well," he said softly as he placed the file down. "You certainly lived up to your title. You were all right, he's the most reasonable and intelligent ruler we ever had."

A small chorus of laughter echoed in joy from the council members as Gumball smiled small, unsure of what to say as Theo kept his eyes sharp on him. "He certainly is," one of the council members agreed.

"But that isn't what we're going to talk about today, this time," another one of the council members spoke, catching Gumball's attention.

"What's the topic, then?" Gumball asked as Theo smiled again.

"Well, your highness, we've gotten some complains that unauthorised visits into the castle should be limited, don't you think?" Theo said. Gumball looked at the man as he raised his eyebrows upward, confusion filling in his eyes.

"I'm sorry?" Gumball asked, quite unsure of where this was going.

"Well, ever since of the Ice Queen incident," the council member sitting next to Theo spoke. "We thought it would be best to increase security. Like, not allowing random people to just walk in here to talk to you. Getting passes and bodyguards at corners, outside of your room. For your safety—of course."

The prince stared at all of them for a while as the explanation settled in. What were they suggesting? That everybody that he adored no longer allowed visiting him? Dread slowly settled at the bottom of his heart as he realised that his own freedom was now on the table. There was a possibility that he would be isolated. He wouldn't even be allowed to go out on his own. How was he supposed to meet up with his friends for movie night?

What about Marshall Lee?

The council members kept quiet as they let their prince to think for a while. The prince knew that if he didn't say anything now, they will proceed and if he did say something, they would pick and dot on him until he would agree. He didn't know which way he could take to escape. He knew that this was something that would happen since he was a royal ruler, but he somehow wanted things to go his way for once. Anger and frustration mixed inside of him for a while before he dismissed it.

He needed to be rational about this and get them to know where he stood and where they were.

They weren't allowed to control every aspect of his life.

Royal or not.

"I disagree," the prince had said out, ringing it clearly as some of them were shocked to hear the answer. They always had no problem getting the prince to agree. This was the first time the prince disagreed. Silence took over as the prince sighed and decided to elaborate. "You're talking about restricting castle grounds from all of those people who looks up to me. You're talking about separating me from my friends and subjects. You are making a line, separating me from those people out of this castle who I love and adore. You're talking about taking away my freedom."

"No, sire!" one of them objected as Gumball looked at the man. "We're just increasing your safety. You might get targeted over and over again. If you stick to a schedule and curfew, wouldn't it be safer?"

The prince just shook his head. "As much as I appreciate your concerns, I'm perfectly fine and will continue to be fine. I don't need any constrictions."

"So, you want your freedom, even though you might endanger yourself?" Theo asked, catching the prince off guard. "You aren't married and you have no heir, if something was to happen to you, wouldn't this jeopardise the kingdom? Do you want to risk this kingdom's stability for the sake of your freedom?"

The prince was stunned at the accusation. Every word was like a knife that cut through him. Theo made him sound so selfish, as if his subjects were not important at all and this angered him. Theo was someone who just arrived yesterday! He doesn't know how he did things around here and the prince, even though was slightly intimidated at Theo's gaze, didn't want to back down. This was his life, they were discussing about. This wasn't something for them to toy around, even for the sake of this kingdom.

"I hope this doesn't offend you, Theo, but you just came around yesterday," the prince said suddenly, catching the rest of the members off guard. "I'm sorry, but I'll be fine. I don't need any more security. There's Fionna, she knows how to keep me safe. We won't discuss this anymore. Thank you," the prince said as he concluded the meeting and stood up before he left.

"My prince!" one of them called out as Gumball walked out, closing the door as he left. Just outside, he took in a huge breath and closed his eyes. He couldn't believe the nerve of these people! The prince just shook his head before sighing. This was his duty after all, wasn't it? He just walked away after that small ponder, deciding to head to his room for some relaxing. As he walked down the hall, someone familiar called him. Turning around, he came face to face with Fionna, the heroine herself with her best friend, Cake, tailing her.

"Hey," Fionna said as she grinned before finally standing in front of him.

"Hello, Fionna, Cake," he greeted with a smile, already forgetting about that meeting with the council members. Cake smiled back as Fionna opened her mouth to continue speaking.

"Man, we missed you," Fionna said. "We didn't see you for almost three weeks!"

"I know, I apologise," Gumball said. "I was busy."

"Oh, we know," Cake said as Fionna giggled. "Marshall wouldn't stop sulking whenever he came around."

"Well, I talked to him yesterday, so I'm sure everything's straightened out," the prince assured as Fionna grinned at that. "But you two seemed to have just gotten back from somewhere," the prince continued as he looked at how messy Fionna was. Scratches were evident on her skin near her elbow and her hair was messed up at awkward angles. Even Cake looked tired.

"We just came back from an adventure," Cake said as Fionna nodded.

"It was fun! But it didn't last long," Fionna said, sounding disappointed.

"Oh, well, how unfortunate," the coral prince said, even though he doesn't sound regretful. Fionna just rolled her eyes at him.

"Anyway, we're wondering if you're free today, like around six," Fionna said, looking at the prince in the eyes. Gumball sighed and didn't give out a definite answer for that.

"Well, it depends," he said. "Why should I be free at six?"

"We're going to search for the amulet," Fionna said, excited all of a sudden. Raising an eyebrow, the prince just stared at her, asking her to continue her explanation. "It's an amulet which can grant any wish for you and they said, it was lost after the war. We found the map and we're gathering troops to help us out."

"So, we thought you'll like to join," Cake said as Fionna nodded again, gleefully.

The prince pondered this for a while as he looked at both of them. "I don't know…," he said sincerely, unsure if he should risk going out tonight. "Wouldn't it be too dangerous?"

"Marshall Lee's coming too!" Fionna interjected his thoughts, catching the prince's attention. "You don't have anything to worry about! Come on, man. It'll be fun!"

The prince just cracked a small smile. Well, he hadn't gone out since these three weeks, excluding yesterday. It had been a long time since he had hung around with Fionna and Cake. They always went to adventures whenever they could before Marshall Lee and he happened. A strong feeling overcame him as he finally sighed again.

"Why not," he said as Fionna beamed.

"So, meet us near the forest edge," Cake said as Gumball nodded.

"Do you want Marshall to pick you up—"

"No!" Gumball quickly said, suddenly aware that they were at the halls and not really in anywhere private. He couldn't risk anybody hearing about this. Fionna was startled a bit as she looked at the prince until a realisation dawned on her. "I'll sneak out, don't worry. I'll be there at six."

With that, the heroine and her best friend nodded.

* * *

Gumball took his bag and slowly opened the door of his room. He peeked out, hoping that nobody was around. He sighed to himself, realising that he was sneaking out for first time since a long time. He even brought a bag, for blob's sake! He didn't know why he felt the urge to dump the bag with strawberries and flashlights, but he did and he guessed, this was how it ought to be then. He decided to wear something dark and concealing and so, while rummaging through his closet, he found a hoodie he thought he didn't have. He suspected that Marshall Lee had placed that hoodie into his clothes since he never remembered having a clothing in dark red colour that almost turned black with words in white saying, 'Death is Cool'.

He wore his almost bleached pink jeans with it as he finally decided that nobody was at the hall. Grabbing the bag and wearing it against his shoulder, he sneaked out from his room and closed the room door tightly. Holding his breath, the prince finally dashed down the hall, stopping once in a while to make sure nobody would see him. Once he had made it out of the castle, making sure the banana guards didn't notice him as well, he wore a cap to cover himself up in a disguise. With one last look, he made it out of the kingdom safely without being seen.

The sunset and the glow of the aftermath basked the whole land in a beautiful orange turning dark. He sighed as he continued to walk away from the kingdom, hoping that nobody would recognise that he had left. The only person he had talked to was Peppermint Maid and even though she wasn't happy that the prince was going to pull a stunt like this, she had to admit that it had been a while since the prince was left to do anything on his own. So, she agreed to keep this secret.

Prince Gumball knew the way to get to the forest. It wasn't that hard when he could see that frightening trees just from a glance. It stood out scarily and angrily at whoever dared to walk into the land. He never dared to go in by himself, it was always with the Vampire King. At least with Marshall Lee, the prince knew he was safe somehow. Even though, occasionally the vampire thought it was funny to scare the blob out of the prince.

It took him a total of thirty minutes before he finally made it to the entrance of the forest. Just there, up ahead, he saw Fionna already swinging her sword around as she laughed at whatever Cake said. "I'm here," the prince finally said, catching the attention of his two friends. Fionna immediately stabbed the sword edge onto the ground before she grinned.

"You did it!" she exclaimed happily as he smiled. "You even wore something other than pink! And a hat!"

Gumball laughed at that before he took the cap off, fixing his pink hair. "I needed to be less revealing."

"It just looks a bit off on you though," Cake said. "The dark colours don't suit you."

"I don't particularly like dark colours honestly," the prince said as Fionna nodded.

"Well, all that's left is for Marshall Lee," Fionna said as the prince raised one of his eyebrows.

"He's still not here?" Gumball asked as the heroine shook her head. "Well, he does love to make an entrance," the prince mused on as Cake giggled at that.

"He'll be here soon," the cat said as the coral prince huffed out. The day was shedding into darkness and the temperature was dropping slightly as they waited for the vampire. Finally after twenty minutes, Fionna yelled at Marshall Lee when she saw him perched up at one of the trees, grinning at them.

"Marshall Lee the Vampire King is here!" he said proudly as he jumped down from the tree and landed perfectly on the now darkened green grass due to the night sky.

"What took you so long, man?" Fionna asked as she took her sword and placed it back behind her bag. Marshall Lee just chuckled before shrugging.

"I come and go with style and entrance," he said as Cake rolled her eyes at him. The prince just smiled small before he saw the vampire's eyes meeting his. A small devilish smirk made way on his pale lips when his eyes travelled down to what his lover was wearing. "Nice shirt, Bubba. It suits you," he said while giving him a wink.

The prince's eyes widened a bit before he blushed, giving the vampire the satisfaction of making his love going red. "You're late," he said, trying his best to wield away this blush. Marshall Lee just took a few steps forward the prince before grinning.

"Aww, did you miss me?" he asked as he leered in close, successfully crowding the prince in his personal space. Gumball felt his cheeks reddening again, the blood rushing until to the peak of his ears. He felt his heart hammering faster against his chest and his palms going sweaty. The prince couldn't look away from those eyes that swallowed his soul deeply. He sometimes didn't know that the vampire could make him feel so different, but he does and the prince couldn't find anything to complain at that.

"N—no," Gumball said as he finally broke the eye contact. "You were just tardy."

"Bleh, tardiness," Marshall Lee said in distaste before one of his pale arms wrapped around Prince Gumball's waist, dragging him close until their hips met. The prince was taken aback as he placed both hands against the vampire's chest, looking at him in the eyes again. His breath hitched when he realised that their noses were touching and there was less than a few micrometres from his lips and the nightwalker's lips. The vampire smirked wider as he noticed how red the prince got. He could feel the warmness under these clothes.

"Marshall," the prince said under his breath, finding everything around him going blank. The vampire liked how his lover spoke of his name under these times. As he lessened the distance, the prince felt his eyelids sliding closed, waiting for the cold ones to touch his warm ones.

"Uhm—guys?" Fionna called out, breaking the trance as the prince's eyes snapped open and widened. Blushing deeper, he quickly pushed the vampire harder than necessary, causing the dead man to stumble a few centimetres away from the prince in shock.

"Sorry!" the prince looked away from the vampire and to his friends, feeling embarrassed. He completely had forgotten that they were here to search for that amulet. Cake looked at them amused but Fionna looked feverish. Her cheeks tinted slightly as the prince cursed inside for his mess-up.

"Aww, just when things were getting good," Marshall Lee said, his voice tinting disappointment. Gumball just glared at him as the vampire looked at him and grinned.

"Uh—okay," Fionna said, shaking herself from that scene she almost witnessed. "Let's get going. We need to get to the amulet before midnight," she continued before she took out what looked like a map, folded out from inside her pocket.

"Why before midnight?" Marshall Lee asked, floating a few feet from the ground.

"The amulet disappears before midnight and won't appear again forever," Gumball said. "That amulet will only appear on a full moon on the second week of the third month, which is today."

Cake nodded as Fionna finally folded open the map. "Right! Let's get going!"

With that, the three of the friends followed the petite blonde to the destination. They thankfully didn't have to travel through the forest, instead, they had to travel a few blocks from the forest to get to a rock maze. The walls were as tall as the Candy Kingdom's safety walls. Gumball just stared at the entrance, inviting them into a darkened abys.

Just outside of the entrance, there was a plated sign in a strange language. Fionna frowned as she stared at it. "Gumball, can you read this? It seemed to be before the war language."

Gumball took a step forward as he stared at it. He couldn't read it fluently but he could understand some of the words. "Well, it said that if we were to enter, we should be prepared to know the way out."

"Scary," Marshall Lee said, although he doesn't sound spooked out at all. "Are we going in or what?"

The prince suddenly felt like not going in after all. The walls were so tall and they were as thick as the thickest walls in his castle. The passageway entering this maze was also narrowed and darkened. He doesn't feel safe. "Uhm, what if we couldn't find our way out?" Gumball asked, fear latching slowly into himself. Fionna turned around and looked at the prince before smiling brightly.

"Don't worry, Gumball. I have the map!" she said as she showed the map. Somehow, he didn't feel assured at all. Just then, he felt a hand on his shoulder, catching him off guard. Looking to his right, he saw the vampire giving him a grin.

"I'll be here to save you, Bubbs," the vampire said as the prince smiled small, even though, it still didn't entirely squish that fear.

"Come on!" Cake said as she followed Fionna in. Marshall Lee followed in next, leaving only Gumball to look and weigh his options. But after a few seconds, he decided that following his friends would be better than staying here and wait for the worst. With that in mind, he quickly followed Marshall Lee into the maze.

It was dark, but it wasn't that dark to the point they couldn't see. In fact, the moon was bright enough for them to know where they were stepping. Just then, Gumball felt someone grabbing him by the hand, making him stop walking. The prince looked at who stopped in and noticed the vampire. "What?" the prince asked as the vampire smiled sheepishly all of a sudden.

"Hey, Bubbs, did you bring anything to eat?" the vampire asked. "Something red?"

The prince stared at the vampire for a while before he looked ahead and saw that Fionna and Cake had stopped in front of them, trying to decide which way to go next. The prince took his bag out and let his hand go from the vampire's. Searching through, he finally found three packs of strawberries. Taking the first pack out, he handed it to the vampire. "Here."

"Wow," the vampire said, grinning as he took the strawberries. "How did you know that I'm going to get hungry?"

The prince blushed a bit before rolling his eyes at the nightwalker. "Just eat them, Marshall Lee."

Marshall Lee did exactly as he was told, opening the lid of the plastic container and took the first strawberry before sucking the red out of them and then the juices until they were shrivelled and grey. The prince just watched him eat them as he suddenly felt the urge to try one himself. He looked into his bag and decided to take another packet out it. He opened the lid and was about to take the first strawberry when Marshall Lee grabbed onto his wrist. "What do you think you're doing?"

The prince slowly looked at the king and raised an eyebrow. "I want to taste one," he said, unsure to why the vampire was stopping him. The vampire thinned his lips before he snatched the second pack away from the prince. "Marshall Lee!" the prince exclaimed as his eyes widened with the vampire's confiscation.

"You can't have them," the king said possessively. "They're mine."

"What? I brought them here," Gumball said as he tried to grab back the packs only to be pushed away by the vampire.

"They're still mine," the vampire said matter-of-factly. The prince didn't know why the vampire suddenly acting childish but he should've expected this. He should've known better when it came to strawberries with this nightwalker. The prince slowly looked at his bag and before he could grab onto it, the king had taken a step forward and took it instead, grinning gleefully when he saw the bag was filled with the third pack of the strawberries.

"Marshall Lee! Give my bag back," the prince yelled sharply, even though he didn't raise his voice. The Vampire King slowly looked back at the prince with a smug smile before he took the next strawberry and sucked the colour again, his eyes never leaving the prince's eyes. Gumball didn't know what to make of this situation. Get angry at him or stay silent at him. Mixed emotions flowed into him before he decided that he really wanted to taste those strawberries. It had been a long time since he had ate one. Before the King could react, Gumball grabbed one of the strawberries and plopped it into his mouth.

It was definitely sweet and delicious! Gumball felt the juice squirting around his mouth as he took another bite. The fruit definitely had that tiny edge of sourness but it wasn't something that the prince hated. He didn't even realise that the vampire had begun to narrow his eyes. Dumping the strawberries into the bag and placing it on the ground, the vampire grabbed onto his lover's wrist and pulled him close, making sure to wrap his free arm around the prince's waist until they were flushed together at every angle.

The prince was startled as he looked at the prince, stopping mid-way in his chewing. His cheeks flushed as he realised the look Marshall Lee was portraying. "M-Marshall?" he called out, trying his best to wiggle out of the grip only to gasp when the grasp on him tightened.

"I thought I said they were mine," the vampire suddenly said, his voice dropping low. The vampire slowly nudged his sharp nose against the prince's cheek, enjoying the warmth his lover had. "They're mine, Gumball," he cooed again before his mouth reached the prince's right ear. "Just like how you belong to me." The vampire gently bit the tip of the prince's ear, causing Gumball to gasp sharply and shudder.

"M-Marshall Lee," the prince said. "W—we're in public," the prince tried to coax the demon out of this trance but all he got was chuckles near his ear, sending shivers down his spine. The king slowly looked back at the prince, his lips worked out into a thin smirk.

Without saying anything about what the prince had said, the vampire leaned in and darted out his tongue to lick the bottom lip of the prince. Gumball's mind went blank as his free hand curled against the shirt the vampire wore. His cheeks were reddening even deeper as he felt his breath becoming shallow. The Vampire King didn't waste any more time as he pried open the prince's lips with his tongue and sealed their mouth together, catching the prince off guard. The coral prince closed his eyes shut as he exclaimed into his mouth, feeling the vampire mashing their lips together.

His cold tongue pierced through the warmness of Gumball's mouth, licking at the edges inside, trying to get the taste of the strawberry. The prince felt slight tremors going through his body as he felt his legs becoming slightly wobbly. The vampire smirked internally as he felt his lover already losing his breath. He slowly moved his hand from holding the prince's wrist and treaded his pale fingers through Gumball's hair as he pushed Gumball deeper into him, almost giving no space for the prince to stop. Gumball kissed back but he was surely losing under the waves of dominance this vampire was showcasing.

The vampire finally broke the kiss, enjoying how hard this prince was panting as he opened his eyes slowly, looking into the vampire's eyes. His cheeks were flushed and his lips were slightly swollen but the nightwalker licked his lips enjoying the sight, making the prince blush heavier. "That—that was uncalled for!" the prince said under his breath as he tried to regain his breathing. Marshall Lee just chuckled before he let the prince go slowly once sure that the prince could stand.

"You tested me, Gumball," he said, not really being serious. "Besides, you taste sweeter than strawberries."

Before Gumball could retort, they heard Fionna exclaiming happily. "Guys! I found the way!" The prince blushed harder when he realised that this happened while they were with those two! He was just thankful that they were in the dark shadows and quite far from them. He certainly didn't want them to witness that.

"Great!" Marshall Lee called back as he grabbed back the bag and this time, he carried it before he winked at his lover one last time. Gumball just sighed, trying to finally calm down his rapidly beating heart. The vampire walked ahead first, following Fionna and Cake before the prince did the same. He couldn't believe that Marshall Lee would do something like that in public! But then again, he didn't understand why he was shocked. He should've expected this much, especially when it came to these strawberries.

It was always the strawberries, Gumball noted in his mind.

Silence filled in all four of them as they walked down the path where Fionna was leading. The night was darkening and Gumball knew that it was nearing midnight. By the time the finally found the big golden gates, the stars were twinkling at their brightest. The gate was tall, as tall as the walls and just behind the gates, they saw what seemed like a tombstone with the amulet engraved on it.

"What are we going to do now?" the prince asked as Fionna hummed out.

"We can always get through the gates," Marshall Lee pointed out as he saw how the gaps between the bars were large enough for them to go through. But something in the way of passage didn't settle well for the prince. It looked like a trap.

"Let's try it out," Cake said as she and Fionna slowly crept to the gap. Without a second though, Cake went through it. Silence took over for a while before Fionna took in another step. But just as she touched the gap, something frizzled up in bright white light and she backed away in pain.

"It buzzed me!" Fionna said as she looked at Cake from the other side.

"That's strange," Gumball said as he stood next to Fionna. Why did Cake got through and Fionna couldn't? The prince slowly took another step forward and let his fingers hover at the gap. Before he could even touch it, a light buzz hit his fingers, making him to retract them with a hiss of pain. "That's painful."

"Well, since Cake got through," Fionna said as she sighed. "Cake, can you get the amulet?"

Cake nodded before she went near the amulet. She took in a few breaths before she touched the light purple diamond in the middle of the necklace. Nothing happened for a while before Cake decided it was safe to grab the amulet. Just when she had grabbed it, the ground began to shake.

Gumball almost fell if it wasn't he clinging onto Marshall Lee. "This place is going down!" Fionna yelled out. "Cake! Hurry out!"

Cake didn't waste any time as she did, running through the gap. "Let's get out of here."

Without much said, Fionna looked at her map again. "Okay, I think I know how to get out of here," Fionna said as she began running in the direction they came from, following closely behind was her three friends. Gumball felt the walls crumbling and the ground underneath them caving in. Marshall Lee even looked slightly worried.

But Fionna was right. She did know her way out and within a few minutes, they had managed to run out of the collapsing maze. They watched how the grey stone walls broke down on each other, finally destroying any trace that there was a maze here. Gumball was breathing heavily as he slid down on the ground, trying to catch some breath. Fionna sat down as well, a grin slowly creeping onto her face as she took the amulet from Cake.

"We have it!" she said gleefully as Marshall Lee grinned.

"So, what are we going to wish for?" the demon asked as Fionna shrugged.

"Anything, I guess."

"D—Don't we think we s—should keep that wish w—when needed?" Gumball panted out the words as he felt his heart slowing down from the frantic race. Fionna thought of it for a while before nodding.

"I guess," she said, already back to normal since she was used to this type of escapade. "I'll just hang onto this until we're sure what to do with it."

"Okay," Marshall Lee said, clearly enjoyed that adventure as his eyes glistened. Gumball just smiled, somehow wondering why he hadn't gone into more adventures like these. Even though it scared him off, it certainly was fun. He now knew why Fionna and Cake enjoyed their adventures so much. Seconds ticked by before Gumball sighed and stood up, finally regaining balance.

"I should get back," he said as Fionna nodded.

"Thanks for joining us, Gumball," Cake said as the prince smiled before he looked at the vampire.

"Can I have my bag back?" he asked as the vampire grinned mischievously.

"Nah, I'll hold onto it," he said as the prince scowled at that. But he didn't want to fight for it. He knew that the vampire wasn't going to let that bag of strawberries go. The prince just shook his head before he looked at the night sky. The wind hollered at them was calming and he definitely enjoyed himself.

With that thought, he finally decided to leave, Marshall Lee following him. Fionna and Cake bid them goodbye and soon, it was only the two of them, walking in the dead of night back to the castle. "It was fun," Gumball said as he looked at the vampire, who was walking instead of elevating next to him. The nightwalker nodded, agreeing with his lover.

"Glad to see you're not that stick in the mud anymore, Bubba," the vampire stated out cheekily as Gumball rolled his eyes.

"And you're getting too intimate in public," the prince bit out as he felt his cheeks reddening when he thought about what had happened. The vampire chuckled before he grabbed onto the prince's right hand and clasped it tight. The prince looked at the hand immediately before his cheeks reddened even deeper, but he didn't pull away. Instead, he clasped it back, smiling softly to himself before he looked at the vampire.

"I don't see you complaining," he said with his devilish smirk.

"I do," the prince protested.

"Nah, you don't. Not after I make you lose yourself," he said proudly, loving how his lover went red again. Gumball huffed out his breath, not sure how to respond to that before he looked away.

"Whatever," the prince said, suddenly feeling tongue tied as the king just shook his head and laughed. Soon, no words were exchanged as the vampire hummed a song while they walked. After a few minutes, Gumball saw the familiar pink bricked walls and he knew that his kingdom was here. Sighing, he finally looked at the vampire and smiled. "I have to go now."

The vampire nodded but he didn't let the hand go. Silence enveloped between them before the vampire took a step forward. The prince just looked at him for a few seconds before he noticed the vampire was leaning in. Closing his eyes, the prince met him halfway and let their lips touch. But it was short, it wasn't something they rarely did. The prince just let it go as he moved away from the kiss and smiled, his cheeks flushed even if it was a short kiss.

"See ya, Bubbs," the nightwalker said as he tightened on the hand and then let it go. "I'll give you the bag after I finished with the strawberries."

"Enjoy yourself, Marshall Lee," the prince said as he finally took a few steps back and turned around to walk in. Just then, he forgot that his hat no longer was with him. He might've lost it along the way, he pondered as he sighed and looked inside of the kingdom, noting that rare people was on the streets. Looking at the vampire, who was now walking away one last time, he dashed inside.

Once he reached into the castle, well, using the backdoor of the castle, he couldn't help to heave out a relieved sigh. Looking around at the halls for a few times, he finally had managed to dash to the familiar hallways to his room. But just as he was about to take another step, he clashed into someone's chest and ended up falling on the ground on his butt.

"Ah, my prince," a sleek familiar voice cooed out as the prince looked up from the ground. His eyes widened when he noticed who it was.

"Theo," he said as the man in front of him smiled, something in his eyes gleamed at that. The prince slowly stood up, patting out his backside as he looked at the council member in the eyes. He was beginning to feel that same unsettling feeling creeping into his mind again.

"It's almost one in the morning," the man said, something dark dripping in his tone. "What are you doing out here? And why are you wearing such appalling clothes?"

The prince couldn't help but to frown at that. "I was just…just walking around the castle. I couldn't sleep," the prince said, hoping he didn't sound too untruthful. He was never good at lying. Theo raised one of his eyebrows as he stared at the prince.

"Wearing those clothes?" Theo asked, leering in close all of a sudden, almost invading the prince's personal space.

"I—I like wearing something different and relaxing," the prince said, trying to maintain eye contact with those devil-like eyes. Theo remained quiet before the smile grew, almost splitting his face in half.

"I see," he said as the prince finally broke the eye contact and took a step back.

"Excuse me," he said. "I'll be sleeping now." He walked around the man and continued to walk away from him, his heart suddenly screaming out that something wasn't right.

"Do remember, my prince," Theo suddenly said, his voice suddenly sounding tight and dark in this hallway. "I was just beginning to like you."

The prince halted on his step. He quickly turned around to look at the man only to find that he was no longer there. In fact, it was as if he had disappeared. The prince felt something cold slithering down his spine and the prince knew that it was fear. Without a second thought, the prince had started to run to his room. Opening the door, he went in and closed it shut, his breath coming out in short pants. Sliding down the door, his eyes wandered around his room, licking his suddenly dry lips.

Why was Theo out in one in the morning anyway?

Why was he inside the castle? No council member stayed in the castle.

And why was he lurking around the hallway?

Gumball closed his eyes as Theo's face flashed into his mind. His beaded eyes were gleaming in something dangerous and the prince felt himself shivering again at the thought. He could feel like he did something wrong, allowing that man to come into the royal council.

Suddenly, he realised, that something was very off with this situation.

Why was it that the prince couldn't find any links of that man to the royal family? Was it really the family tree was cut off somewhere?

But deep inside his mind, he knew that wasn't the case. Something in him just said, Theo wasn't someone who he thought he was.

Theo wasn't safe.


End file.
